WHAT BRINGS YOU FUN, AND HAPPINESS?

FUN AND HAPPINESS

Have you managed to find what brings you FUN AND HAPPINESS?  So many can attest to the fact that life is so much better when you have done so.

To every one of us, it can be a myriad of different things but I have found on my travels and on visiting various friends and relatives that the ones who are the most miserable are the ones who have not worked out for themselves what they can do to bring joy and happiness to others.

If they don’t do this, there is no way they can find their own joy and happiness. The fun part comes when you are happy with the life you have chosen.

This applies to work, people, and playtime.

SPA DAYS

The wonderful thing about going on a Spa Day is that nothing matters, not even the weather.

Spa venues are so varied and often you can come across a really marvelous one that is close by.

Lauren and I managed to find a fantastic Spa just around the corner from where she lives and enjoyed a great day of pampering there.

They were gracious enough to let Ben, my little grandson, play on the play equipment in the garden and even provided a carer for him so we did not have to worry about him while we enjoyed our special time.

There is something so rejuvenating about treating yourself to a spa day but make it more worthwhile by finding a really great spa, which offers the works.

To add the fun element, go with friends.

My favorite thing to do is go out on a spa day with my daughter, and have some mother-and-daughter time away from the computer, and mobile phones and just enjoy the pampering together.

We come back refreshed and ready to work again.

We also did this as a group thing when she and her friends invited me along with them on a number of occasions for a full day of pampering at the most glorious spas around the Cape Town area.

There were so many new experiences, experienced things we hadn’t tried before, like having the tiny fish nibble on our feet. It was such a weird but wonderful feeling and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Really relaxing.

THE LOVE AND CARE OF ANIMALS

The saying goes, “Birds of a feather, flock together.” This is so true when it comes to getting to know people who become great friends when one has a lot in common.

My entire family is mad about animals and so are my friends.

I recently had the great pleasure of staying with my beloved brother Myles, and his wife Daphne, in Durban.

They have their daughter Diane, son-in-law, Georgie, and two dear little granddaughters, Haley and Jessica living on their property. And until recently, their son, Dallas was with them too.

All of whom are passionate animal lovers.

Five of the six dogs are rescue dogs and given the life of “Riley”, (whoever Riley is?). There are two cats, laying hens, a fish tank full of fish, and birds and not to mention the troop of monkeys who arrive and help themselves to the bananas and avocados.

The last of the animals are not members of the family, just passing through, as it were.

On one night I was there, I had a cat on one side of me and an enormous dog on the other, and we all slept very comfortably.

No fear of feeling lonely in this loving home.

We did have a very funny experience. When gathering all the dogs up for bedtime, it is usually not difficult as they are happily settled in their favorite places on the chairs, couch, or lap.

Little Odie was nowhere to be found.

The hunt was on. We called and searched, searched and called, and became quite desperate, as Odie was not responding.

This hunt went on for quite a while and then suddenly a thought came to me, I had been sitting on a chair that opened up into a very relaxing position and when I got up, it returned it to the normal position.

Upon opening up the chair again, there was Odie, sound asleep and fortunately, not squashed.

We were so grateful to find Odie and were by that time rather keen to go to bed.

A dear friend kindly took me out most days for breakfast and to see the surrounding countryside and we could be sure of a rousing welcome upon returning home. Fortunately, he loves animals too.

 

MUSIC AND DANCING

Most days, the first thing I do is put the CD player on and depending on my mood play the music that suits me.

For me and so many others, music is soul food.

Whatever your mood, you will find there is the right type of music, that will lift you up or soothe your soul.

When I had my Mother and Father living with me and I found some days stressful, in the afternoon I would take myself over to a friend, we would push all her furniture to the side of the room, put on rock and roll music, and dance until we dropped.

She had both her Mom and Mother-in-law living with her.

As much as we loved our parents, the responsibility of caring for them could get a bit difficult, and it was good for us to just let our hair down and dance our cares away.

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

My dear niece, Teresa is a party animal, and really enters into the spirit of the party. She loves dressing for the part.

She is able to find fun in every situation and is fun to be around.

What I find endearing about her is that she shares a lot of these experiences with her parents and her nieces.

Recently she took Haley and Jessica to the ice show and they had a marvelous time. Not only did she take them there but also bought them outfits to suit the theme.

One of the things Terri takes great pleasure in is dressing for the occasion. Nothing like the dressing up we did in our day, with ball gowns and gloves but really fun outfits.

I follow her escapades on FaceBook and love to see what she is up to and what she will be doing next.

While I was visiting her Dad, my brother, Terri took us all to dinner and then on to a burlesque show.

Well, it is been the first for all of us (slightly) older folk but we enjoyed it thoroughly. Very tasteful and very funny at the same time. Great singing and dancing.

Who would have thunk?

Another thing Terri did was take her Mum and me for a wonderful drive along the very beautiful Midlands Meander.

We had lunch at the Blue Berry Farm Stall. What a treat.

If you ever get a chance to travel that way, do yourself a favor and visit here. The food is scrumptious as are the Blueberry gin drinks.

The garden is an absolute picture and so is the wonderful scenery.

Don’t forget to spoil yourself further by stopping at the Tsonga Factory Shop for a pair of shoes or a handbag. You won’t be disappointed. This is a place I have frequented often and have the shoes to prove it.

Every woman, (and man) deserves comfortable, elegant shoes. Oh yeah!

FINDING INSPIRATION IN NATURE

There are many joys of watercolor painting, one of which is finding inspiration in the world around you.

Once again you can lose yourself in the wonder of nature as you look around you with new eyes.

Not being critical, but finding the beauty in the trees and flowers.

When you spend time outdoors finding inspiration for a painting it is a good idea to take along a sketch pad and some colored pencils to help so that when you get back to actually creating your picture it refreshes your memory.

Another way, of course, is to take along a camera. So often one thinks, oh I will remember, but it is a different thing when you get home.

Remember that when you paint it is for yourself and your interpretation of what you saw.

Don’t be hard on yourself – it should be fun.

Open your heart and mind to new experiences.

Find your inner child. Somewhere behind all the worries of the world, self-doubt, grief, loneliness, or whatever is holding you back, your inner child is there just waiting to come out.

It was so liberating for me to clear out the dreaded corner cupboard in my kitchen and give away to grateful family members the crockery, cutlery, dishes, etc. etc., and make space for my art paraphernalia.

Much more fun, don’t you agree?

I cleaned up my husbands’ toolbox, got rid of boring things like spanners, pliers, hammers and nails, and screws and this now holds my arty bits and bobs.

This great idea of mine takes away a lot of the stress of hunting for all the things I need to start painting.

Before I did this it would take me so much time to gather everything together it took away the pleasure. I was tired before I even got started.

COLORFUL GARDENING INSPIRATION

Well, folks!

These are some of the things that give me and my loved ones fun and pleasure.

There is just one other thing I want to tell you about before I give you the opportunity to tell me what it is that you find fun in your own life.

I want to tell you what pleasure I have had writing this post and also changing the pictures I took while away on one of my jaunts to cheer up the script.

If I had not had the immense pleasure of joining Wealthy Affiliate two years ago and learning how to do all of this, I should not have been able to share this with you.

Should you want to learn how to do this, just click on the Wealthy Affiliate link where you will find the details. It will cost you nothing, and you will have just as much fun as I have over the past two years.

Wishing you all the best, as you think of all the fun and happiness that is yours, and happy reading.